Creativity Workshops for Schools - Painting

Creativity Workshop: Stencil Zebra

* Find a suitable reference image of a zebra and enlarge to slightly smaller than an A4.

* Take a sheet of plastic (old plastic file sleeve/ transparency/ file) and place it over the reference
image.

* Trace only the outlines with a permanent marker.

* Cut the outline out, so that you end up with a stencil of a zebra.

* Place the stencil over another sheet of A4-paper and secure it with masking tape.

* Paint vertical lines across the stencil.

* Be sure to cover the paper completely so that none of the background is visible.

* Advise the children to paint from the plastic onto the paper, from top to bottom and vice versa

so as to ensure that the paint is not forced under the stencil, spoiling the end-product.

* Carefully remove the stencil and reveal the zebra.

Next Level

* You can let the children to the first 5 steps themselves.

* You can use a prepared background from a previous workshop.

Creativity Workshop: Pointillism Dog

How do I make the Pointillism Dog?

Basic

* Draw a dog and cut it out.

* Use this outline of a dog and draw only its outlines on another sheet of paper.

* Use a variety of colour paint and a thin brush to dot the shape of the dog, until there is no white of the
paper visible.

* Now use a permanent marker to fill in the details such as the nose, eyes, mouth, whiskers and nails.

Creativity Workshop: Under the Sea Painting

How do I make the Crazy Hair Painting?

Basic

* Take an A4 watercolour paper and stick it down to the table, using masking tape, all around the edges.

(This is to ensure that the paper does not wobble.)

* Draw an under the sea scene using a black marker.

* Use Neocolour wax crayons to outline each shape. Do not colour in the shapes.

* Take a spray bottle filled with water and spray a thin mist all over the picture.

* Wait for 10 seconds.

* Now keep on spraying water lightly and see how the colours run.

* Dab up unwanted runs and let the picture dry before removing the masking tape.

Creativity Workshop: Crazy Hair Painting

How do I make the Crazy Hair Painting?

Basic

* Fold an A4 sheet of watercolour paper in half, length wise.

* Drop three colours of paint (diluted) on the one side.

* Use a straw to blow onto the paint and distribute it in interesting patterns.

* Let it dry.

* Unfold the paper.

* Use markers to draw a face (and boy) to each paint splatter.

Creativity Workshop: Free Style Painting Workshop

Every now and then children insist on painting whatever they want. The results are often not as pleasing as that of a restrictive theme and concept but they learn a lot about planning,
conceptualisation and composition in retrospect.

Basic:

* Paste down a large piece of paper on a stable table, using masking tape.

* Squirt out the three primary colours and the three secondary colours, as well as some white, into a tray.

* Draw the outlines of whatever object or theme you choose, with HB-pencil.

* Experiment a bit with colour mixing and encourage the child to explore with colour.

* Wait until the paint is dry.

* Carefully remove the masking tape on the sides.

* Discuss the successes and areas that needs improvement. Especially pointing out the benefits of a strong
idea or concept beforehand.

Creativity Workshop: Complimentary Colours Gnome

How do I make the complimentary colour gnome?

Basic:

* Paste down a large piece of paper on a stable table, using masking tape.

* Draw the outlines of a gnome, using an HB-pencil or black marker.

* Choose a complimentary colour combination. (Red and green, or blue and orange, or yellow and purple.)

* Mix a variety of each of the two selected colours. Adding a bit of white or black to them for example.

* Use only the chosen two complimentary colours to colour in the gnome.

* This way, the child will remember one set of complimentary colours at a time.

* Repeat this exercise two more times, altering the medium and theme.

* The child will then much more easily recall the complimentary sets.

Creativity Workshop: Canvas Cupcake

How do I make the canvas cupcake?

Basic:

* Draw the outlines of a cupcake design of your choice on canvas with permanent marker.

* Use a dry-brush-technique. In other words make sure that there is no water on the brush when you start
with a new colour.

* Colour in the cupcake using a frat brush and acrylic paint.

Next Level:

* Make three cupcakes on three different canvasses but exchanging the colours, creating a set of three
paintings.

* Once the paint has dried on the canvas, mix in white with all of the colours on your pallet and dab a few
strokes of the lighter colour over the

matching colours. In other words, light blue over the original blue. (See the image 4 as an example.)

* Try to encourage them to stay off the black outlines.

* Encourage them to use the front end of the brush to follow the curve of the outlines instead of the side
of the brush.

* Point out the texture of the canvas and the effect it has on your mark making and how it grips the paint.

* Use the lightened colours (the ones with white added) to create highlights. In other words the first layer
can be seen as the shady parts of

the cupcake and the whitened colours can be where the light reflects.

* Encourage them to mix their own new colours.

Creativity Workshop: Paint Blowing Compositions

How do I make the Paint Blowing Compositions?

Basic:

* Dilute children’s arts and craft paint with water.

* Drip or squirt the paint onto watercolour paper.

* Blow onto the paint, using a straw.

* Thicker straws are less difficult to blow through but it cannot blow such thin lines of paint.

* A straw that can be bent, makes it easier to direct the blow.

* It does not matter if the colours mix. It is a great way for the kids to discover what happens when specific colours are mixed.

Creativity Workshop: Paint Butterflies

How do I make the Paint Butterflies?

Basic:

* Dilute children’s arts and craft paint with water.

* Fold an A3 sheet of paper in half and open it up again.

* Drip the various colours of paint only on the one side of the paper.

* Let the child mix some of the colours on the sheet.

* This can be done by means of blowing with a straw, finger painting etc.

* Now fold the clear side of the paper over onto the painted side.

* Slowly open the sheet up again and discover what happened to the paint.

* Point out the symmetry and perhaps point out where else we can come

across symmetry elsewhere in life

Next Level

* After a few tries and experimentation you can encourage the child to try and plan and manipulate the paint so as to get a desired effect or
pattern.

* Do paint butterflies on coloured paper, using for example light paints on dark paper.

* Do multi-layered butterflies by making several prints on a single sheet, waiting until each layer is dry in-between prints.